More than Mercenaries
by JackieStarSister
Summary: Acxa wanted to believe she and her fellow generals were more than just mercenaries, that they fought for more than just themselves. But that was not always the case. A canon-compliant short story cycle. Rated for warfare.
1. Table of Contents

Table of Contents

"The Return." Acxa reunites with Lotor and the other generals after her misadventure in the weblum.

"The Summons." Lotor receives a surprising message from Galra High Command.

"Another Encounter." The generals meet the paladins of Voltron for the first time.

"One More Thing to Live For." Acxa has mixed feelings about switching allegiances.


	2. The Return

_Published October 14, 2017_

 _Takes place after "The Belly of the Weblum"_

"Acxa's Return"

"Acxa's alive!" Ezor's voice, already high under normal circumstances, was positively shrill over the intercom.

"What?" Zethrid's response was understandably incredulous.

Even Lotor, who prided himself on his ability to stay cool and take unexpected developments in stride, was surprised by the news. Acxa had been missing and out of contact for an unusually long period. At first they had attributed this to the difficult process of harvesting scaultrite, but as more time passed they wondered if she had been captured or killed. It seemed unlikely, considering how competent she was at most tasks she attempted; yet she was accountable enough that she would not leave them with no news unless she simply could not get a message to them.

"She just sent me a transmission!" Ezor informed them. "She's okay, and she even got the scaultrite! But her ship was destroyed, so she hitched a ride to a public space port and needs us to pick her up."

"Hm. … Wait until the rest of us have met and regrouped," Lotor instructed.

This slightly diffused Ezor's excitement. "Why? It'll be faster if I just so and get her."

"We don't know what may have happened to her. For all we know this could be an impostor, or someone's attempt to use her as bait for a trap."

Lotor had a point. They sometimes used similar trickery, usually through Narti's telepathic abilities.

Once they had completed their separate errands, they made their way to the space port together. Lotor decided that he would stay in the ship and Narti would keep a lookout while Ezor and Zethrid met Acxa. Lotor's face was well known enough that a knowledgeable Galra officer could recognize it, and he preferred to keep his movements secret.

Acxa was seated on a bench, her helmet still on, with a large round bag next to her. Her arm rested on it as though to either protect it or use it as a cushion.

"If it's not her after all," Zethrid said decisively, "we'll crush whoever stole her armor."

"It's her," Ezor said confidently. "I saw her face in the transmission."

Acxa saw them, and immediately stood and removed her helmet, revealing her face to them.

"I told you it was her!" Ezor smiled broadly—not her smug, playful smile, but one of genuine joy—and approached Acxa with open arms. "It's so good to see you, Acxa!"

Acxa's smile was indulgent as she let Ezor hug her. Then Zethrid came up beside them and seized both of them in her arms, lifting them up off the ground for a moment.

"It's good to see you as well," Acxa said, her voice just slightly muffled.

Finally satisfied, Zethrid put them back on the ground and released them from her hug. "We thought you might not be coming back," Zethrid commented.

"I thought so too, for a while" Acxa admitted. "Is Lotor angry with me?"

"Oh, no … I wouldn't say _angry_ ," Ezor answered, but she glanced at Zethrid as though she needed confirmation.

"He's not," Zethrid confirmed. "We've seen him get angry, and he wasn't like he is then."

"Yeah," Ezor agreed. "More like … disgruntled."

"We kept asking if we could look for you when we weren't on other assignments."

"So you could say he's a little annoyed with all of us."

Acxa was touched, but instead of thanking them she asked slyly, "Even Narti?" It sometimes seemed as though Narti got along best with anyone, since she could not verbally argue or easily make her will known.

"Yes; she backed us up."

Acxa smiled and picked the bag of scaultrite up off the bench. "Well, there's no point in putting off my return any longer."

Narti was waiting for them outside the ship. Acxa was about to inquire where Kova was, when the cat came up to her on nimble feet and rubbed its head against her calf. Acxa bent down to stroke his fur, briefly making eye contact with him before looking up at his owner. "Hello, Narti." The blind woman extended her arm, offering Acxa her hand, and they grasped each other's forearms in greeting.

When they entered the ship, Lotor was there, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. His expression was cool, neither happy nor angry as he regarded them. Before Acxa could say a word, he gave out new orders to her fellow generals. "Zethrid, Ezor, prepare for our departure. Narti, make sure no one is following us."

Zethrid strode out right away. Ezor followed her, but cast a slightly worried glance at Acxa. Narti clapped a hand on Acxa's shoulder before exiting the ship once more.

"Prince Lotor." Acxa saluted, resting a fist over her heart, then bowed her head and knelt on one knee, more obeisance than any of them had shown him in a long time. "I am truly sorry for my long absence."

Lotor inclined his head, looking down to address her. "I accept your apology. Stand."

Acxa obeyed wordlessly, facing him eye to eye. She still could not read any emotion in him, and hoped that he could not see any in her.

"I'm pleased to see that you were ultimately successful in your mission," Lotor said, a promising sign. "I only hope you have a justifiable explanation for your absence."

"I was detained inside the weblum."

"How did you escape?"

"Two people came looking for scaultrite. One of them broke into my pod and freed me."

"Then you were seen?"

"They never saw my face."

"What happened to them?"

Acxa paused, as though uncertain, which was rather uncharacteristic for her. "I'm not sure. We went different ways while trying to get the weblum to produce scaultrite. I stayed long enough to obtain a bag. I don't know whether those two survived."

Lotor looked at her with narrowed eyes. Acxa fought to keep her own eyes steady, to look contrite but not guilty.

Under her leader's scrutiny, she almost regretted that she had not made the interlopers' fate certain. At first her excuse had been that they could be useful to her, because she was not certain she could complete the mission on her own. But when they succeeded in collecting the coveted scaultrite, Acxa had the opportunity to kill the one who had saved her. Perhaps she should have been quicker and done it before he realized what she was doing. But even when he saw her aim the weapon, he had not moved to stop her, even though he could have activated his shield. Why had he done that—or rather, not done that? Did he want her to disprove his words? Had she done so by sparing his life? Acxa saw it as repaying a debt—since he had saved her, and not killed her when he realized she was Galra, saving him from the bacteria and sparing his life made them even.

She knew she had done the honorable thing. But it put her in a complicated position with them, who should be her enemies, and with her Prince, to whom she had pledged her loyalty.

Lotor's words remained clipped. "You'll give a full debriefing, but none of it is to be recorded. As far as anyone outside of this ship is concerned, your adventure never happened." It seemed an odd thing to say, considering Acxa had just admitted that there might be living witnesses.

Lotor stepped forward and placed a hand on Acxa's armored shoulder. She blinked, surprised by the gesture, as well as the smile that his lips formed. "I'm glad you've returned." He lowered his voice, almost conspiratorially. "And not just because you brought the scaultrite. I need you to keep the others focused."

Since he was smiling, Acxa allowed herself a small one in return.

* * *

Author's Note: I began writing this a few weeks ago, but wanted to wait until after Season 4 was released, just in case they revealed why Acxa was in the Weblum and how she got stuck in it. I still struggle to understand how someone who fights so well was unable to break herself out.


	3. The Summons

_Published September 2, 2018_

 _Takes place between Seasons 2 and 3_

"The Summons"

The notification on the screen made Acxa blink in surprise and frown in concern. However, she assumed a neutral tone as she reported it to Lotor. "Sir, we're receiving a transmission from Galra High Command."

Lotor raised one white eyebrow, intrigued. "Really?"

"Are we in trouble?" Ezor asked, tilting her head to look at him.

"Let's not get excited," Lotor said evenly. "Open the communication line, Acxa."

"Yes, sir."

A Galra officer's face appeared on the screen. "Prince Lotor. High Priestess Haggar requires your presence at Galra High Command immediately."

"Am I to understand by this that my banishment is over?"

There was a very brief pause before the officer answered. "It would seem so, Your Highness."

"And what does my father have to say about this?"

A longer pause, a few ticks, preceded the response. "I have no more information."

Zethrid and Ezor exchanged looks of bemusement. Acxa glanced at Lotor, and Narti turned her ear to him while Kova studied him intently. His eyes were narrowed now; he appeared cautious, considering potential losses, calculating potential gains.

After a moment he relaxed his face and posture, nodding his head. "Very well. You may inform Haggar that we are setting our course for Galra High Command."

The officer saluted. "Vrepit sa." With that, the screen disappeared.

Lotor stood, clasping his hands behind his back.

"So … _are_ we setting course for Galra High Command?" Zethrid asked.

"Yes," Lotor answered, to his generals' slight surprise.

"But Haggar doesn't have any power over you," Ezor said. "You've said so yourself." Whenever Haggar came up in conversation or reports, Lotor expressed only scorn, contempt, and resentment for her. The generals knew this to be the kind of attitude many Galra officers had toward the witch, who, rumor had it, was not even Galra, and had an inexplicably powerful influence on Zarkon's plans.

"There's a reason the summons came from her and not my father," Lotor said. "Something must have happened to him that the messenger either did not know or was not authorized to reveal."

"You think he's finally dead?" Zethrid blurted out. Narti whipped her tail behind her back to hit Zethrid's shoulder in admonishment. "Ow!"

"Dead, or incapacitated," Lotor said. "He would not have permitted her to summon me if he were aware of it. Either she is operating behind his back, or she is acting in his name. Whatever the case, we need more information." He looked past his generals to the windows and the view of space and stars. "If she means to use me as a figurehead, it may prove an advantageous opportunity for us."

The generals exchanged glances once more, their confusion and unease slowly giving way to something like hope. Having access to the Galra Empire's intelligence and resources would advance Lotor's plans more quickly and make their missions much easier and more successful.

It had been a long time since they interacted with Galra society, and as hybrids they had never really been integrated with it. If Lotor had an official position ruling the Galra, he and his generals would no longer be derided and shunned. They would be respected for their power and status. The more they thought about it, the more they wanted that for themselves.

Lotor was still looking beyond them. When he spoke, his tone was warm with anticipation. "This could be the beginning of a great change in the universe."


	4. Another Encounter

_Published November 25, 2018_

 _Takes place throughout Season 3. Will be moved to fit chronology._

"Another Encounter"

Acxa occasionally had dreams about her misadventure the weblum. Some of them were rooted in her actual experience: being trapped, watching the windshield break above her, taking the hand offered to her, emerging from her ship like an animal hatching from a shell, being held at blasterpoint, crouching with the red paladin behind his shield, and aiming her weapon at him.

Often these dreams involved scenarios in which Acxa and the red paladin were forced to work together. She would be in a situation that seemed hopeless, and then he would break through whatever held her down, setting her free. Or he would be in danger, and she had to take out whoever threatened him. In the ticks that it took for Acxa to transition from sleep to consciousness, she felt regret as she remembered that they had no such relationship anymore.

It was not often that Acxa fluctuated between alliance and enmity, the way she and the red paladin had over the course of those doboshes and vargas. He had judged her and alienated her as soon as he saw her Galra armor. Looking at it from his perspective, Acxa could not blame him for putting his guard up, since he probably encountered mostly hostile Galra in his efforts to fight Zarkon's empire. Still, it had stung a bit when the person whose kindness had surprised her suddenly turned on her. She guessed he had felt the same way when she turned on him. She did not want him to think that he had been right about her. His opinion should not have mattered to her, but she wanted him to respect her.

There was one occasion when Acxa almost gave herself away. She woke up from a dream to find Ezor shaking her. "Acxa, can you hear me?"

"What—yes, I hear you." It took a moment for Acxa to get oriented, shaking the dream from her mind and focusing on the present. "Is something wrong?"

"I woke up and heard you talking in your sleep." Ezor tilted her head in mild concern. "You sounded kind of stressed."

Acxa tried to sound only vaguely interested as she asked, "What did I say?"

"You said the word 'paladin.' Were you dreaming about them?"

"I forget the details." That was true; now that she was awake she could not remember half of what she had dreamed about. "Sorry I woke you."

It was silly, Acxa knew. Hadn't she and Lotor and the other generals saved each other at various times? What made the red paladin different?

The difference, she supposed, was that she and the paladin were not under any obligation or official agreement to help each other. He'd had nothing to gain from helping her, yet he had done so anyway.

Why?

If the stories people told about the old paladins were true, and their values were held by the new paladins, they believed in helping others. Judging by the red paladin's actions, they were willing to extend that principle even to potential enemies.

Perhaps that was why Voltron responded to the distress signal from the Altean ship, and investigated it in spite of what they must have known could be a trap. Lotor, however, attributed it to the Alteans' desperation to know whether they were the last of their race. Whatever the reason, Lotor's plan worked: Voltron retrieved the trans-reality comet he needed, and he and his generals were able to take it.

When Lotor sent them to the Ulippa System, Acxa wondered if he had ordered Throk's transfer there with the intention of eventually attacking the base and pinning on him. It made sense, as a method of revenge for conspiring against Lotor. That was what happened to those who crossed him the wrong way.

But as the four generals returned to their own cargo ship, they found it had been boarded by five intruders, armored with the same uniform in different colors: the paladins of Voltron.

It was five on four, but the generals were not like any combatants the paladins had faced before. To avoid directly fighting the ones she had seen in the weblum, Acxa went after the blue paladin with a rifle, but then the red paladin came at her, wielding a black sword. She blocked it with her blaster, and for a moment they struggled against each other. He glared at her, but then she saw surprise and recognition in his eyes as he realized she was the same Galra he had rescued.

They might have stayed in that deadlock if Ezor had not broken them apart. To avoid another standoff with the red paladin, Acxa ducked past him and focused instead on the sharpshooter, matching his fire with her own. Then there came a moment when the paladins were all near the exit, and instead of continuing to fight, they retreated. Zethrid started to give chase, but Acxa shouted at her to stop.

"Come on!" Zethrid growled. "This is our chance to destroy them!"

"We have what we came for. Stick to the plan!" Killing them was not necessary to their mission, and Acxa did not want it to come to that—at least not with the one who had saved her.

As they prepared to leave with the teleduv, Acxa contacted Lotor. "Prince Lotor, the paladins of Voltron are here. What should we do?"

Lotor was as quick-thinking and decisive as ever. _"Acxa and Narti, take the Sincline ship and distract Voltron while Zethrid and Ezor transport the teleduv."_

They followed his directions. The Castle of Lions fired on the Sincline ship, and they returned fire, until they were attacked from their other side. Voltron emerged, the five lions having combined to form the giant superweapon. Then it conjured its giant sword.

Lotor continued to give commands. _"Keep Voltron engaged until the cargo ship is out of range."_ But then Voltron swung its sword at the ship, and Lotor warned, _"Do not be drawn in. The sword strike is its most deadly blow."_

This probably topped Acxa's weblum experience as the most dangerous situation she had ever been in. She had never flown in such close range to such a powerful superweapon, let alone engaged one in battle. She and Narti evaded Voltron, occasionally knocking into it but mostly staying ahead. Then Voltron turned around, its pilots apparently fixing their attention on the cargo ship as it carried the teleduv away. With its back to them, Acxa and Narti fired, forcing Voltron to turn toward them and conjure its shield.

 _"We have them right where we want them. They can either defend, or go after the teleduv and leave themselves vulnerable."_

As the Sincline ship's ion cannon charged for an assault, Lotor predicted, _"They're going to attack the cargo ship. Prepare to fire as soon as the shield goes down."_

It seemed he was right: the shield became wings again, and a yellow cannon appeared on Voltron's shoulder.

 _"FIRE, NOW!"_

Acxa did so, but at that moment, Voltron moved out of the way. The blast from the Sincline ship hit the teleduv, triggering an explosion from within.

Wide-eyed with surprise, anger, and fury, Lotor shouted, _"Fire again!"_

Acxa did so, and this time managed to hit Voltron, which started to float backwards, out of its pilots' control. Acxa and Narti flew the Sincline ship alongside the cargo ship, weaving through debris from the teleduv, and picked up Ezor and Zethrid as they abandoned ship.

Lotor's voice brimmed with barely-contained anger, a tone Acxa had never heard him direct at her or the other generals before. _"Your failure is most disappointing. Return before more Galra ships converge on your location."_ With that he closed the communications channel.

Acxa closed her eyes, gripping the controls in her fists. At that moment, she would have liked nothing more than to attack Voltron again in retaliation for what they had just done. But she was loyal to Lotor, and it was that loyalty that made his words, this situation, sting so much.

Lotor was not like other Galra military officials, who might have ordered cruel punishment for such a failure. That was something to be thankful for. But failure in itself was more than enough punishment for Acxa to endure. All she wanted was to further his goals and gain his esteem.

She vowed she would never fail him so disastrously and merit his disappointment again.


	5. One More Thing to Live For

_Published June 20, 2018_

 _Takes place throughout season 5_

"One More Thing to Live For"

Acxa, Zethrid, and Ezor thought they had only to turn the valuable Earthling prisoner over to Zarkon before they would be welcomed back into the Galra ranks. But Zarkon wanted them to remain with him and personally participate in a hostage exchange. After that, he said, they would receive military assignments befitting them. They complained to each other in private, but did not dare argue with Zarkon. Thad thrown their lot in with him and his Empire, and they had to follow through.

They had not known that Lotor was in the Voltron paladins' custody. The Galra themselves did not know whether he was a prisoner or a guest among them, but they were sure he was responsible for feeding them information that had given them the upper hand in many recent exploits.

It stung to think that Lotor had replaced his generals with their enemies. It made some sense, though, Acxa reflected. As a last resort, after all other possible alliances failed, Lotor had appealed to a former enemy—the enemy of his new enemy—just as his three remaining generals had.

Acxa wondered if Lotor and the paladins talked about her and the other generals. Did Lotor now know the details of her adventure with the red and yellow paladins, how they had cooperated and saved each other and spared each other? She supposed she no longer had any reason to feel ashamed of that, since Lotor was now doing the same thing she had, allying himself with the enemies of the Empire because it was the only way out of a bad situation. So Lotor had turned his back on the Galra Empire. Or he wanted the paladins to help him regain control of it. Perhaps it did not matter at this point.

Three Earthlings delivered Lotor to the rendezvous point. The only one the generals recognized from their previous fight with the paladins was the short female in green-accented armor. She was accompanied by two men who the generals had only seen in Zarkon's communication feed: a rebel, and a paladin they had not seen before, whose armor had black accents.

At first, it seemed as though they had the upper hand, but after their hologram ruse was discovered, Lotor revealed he also had a trick up his sleeve, almost literally: he produced a weapon seemingly out of nowhere. From there, everything fell into chaos.

After being ejected from the shuttle, the trio of former generals were stranded and had to wait for someone to pick them up. The paladins thankfully did not give chase; they scooped up Lotor and fled before Zarkon's fleet arrived. When it did, the officers took the three women back as prisoners.

Zethrid and Ezor did not blame Acxa, nor did she suggest it was her fault, since was the one who had initiated this plan involving the prisoner and Zarkon. They were not much worse off than they had been before. Zethrid had been convinced that they would wind up dead; at least Acxa had convinced them to try one more time.

None of them felt particularly sad about the prospect of death, whether it be by execution or slow starvation. At this point, none of them had much to live for, because they were no longer in a position to gain anything. No one in the Galra Empire would accept or advocate for them. The only motive they had for fighting at this point was out of pride, defiance, and spite. Zethrid was the most enthusiastic on this point, but Acxa and Ezor also stood ready to defend themselves against whoever came in to kill them. If they had to die, at least it would be on their feet, asserting their dignity and whatever power they still had, rather than on their knees, relinquishing both.

As it turned out, their readiness was unnecessary. Haggar, the witch Lotor had so despised, came to them with an offer of recruitment. They were not sure what to make of this.

It felt wrong to help someone besides Lotor contend for the right to rule. But accepting Haggar's offer was the only chance they had to escape punishment for serving Lotor and failing in their service to Zarkon. They did not like or trust Haggar, but working for her was preferable to imprisonment or death. They would continue to find one more thing to live for.

It did not take long for them to find the kind of candidate Haggar wanted. They knew who Sendak was, though they had not met him before. Zarkon had trained the man himself, a privilege and opportunity he had denied his own son. While Lotor and Sendak were both calculating and sometimes brutal, Sendak possessed a quality that Lotor lacked and Zarkon had valued: a propensity for cruelty.

What Haggar said about only accepting a natural-born Galra, and calling Sendak the purest of them all, made the generals feel uncomfortable, because they knew it ruled out Lotor on the very principle he had always rejected and taught his generals to reject.

None of them felt as though they belonged to either of their parents' cultures. The Galra shunned them for not being fully Galra, while their respective other planets' cultures shunned them for being Galra at all. Lotor was the only person who had ever suggested to them that being a part of two worlds could be an advantage rather than a detriment. He had encouraged them to further develop whatever skills they possessed from either or both of their heritages.

Lotor was the one who had told them to embrace and not be ashamed of their mixed heritages, to not let it hold them back; and now they were standing by someone who called him a half-breed and told him his mixed heritage should disqualify him from contending for what was rightfully his.

They watched as Lotor and Sendak dueled on the steps. Then, suddenly, someone came out from inside the structure, knocking Lotor down the stairs; mere seconds later, fire poured out from the same opening, and there were several explosions inside.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, everyone could see that this newcomer who had just saved Lotor from a fiery death was a member of the Blade of Marmora. That put Lotor in an even worse light than bringing the Black Lion. That could be seen as a triumph, since Zarkon had once piloted it and spent millennia seeking out the lions of Voltron. But colluding with the secret society intent on disintegrating the Empire could not be called anything besides treason.

At this point, everyone who had been standing back and watching the major contenders started to turn on each other. Commander Trugg drew back to attack Haggar, but Acxa noticed and shot Trugg. As chaos broke out both on the ground and in the sky, as the officers fought one-on-one and fleets opened fire.

When not personally threatened, Acxa tried to keep her eyes on her former and current allies. It was when she was watching Lotor interact with the Blade and resume his fight with Sendak that she saw Commander Gnov run up and attack the Blade. The blow dissolved the Blade's mask, and even from a distance Acxa recognized the pale skin and dark hair of the Voltron paladin who saved her in the weblum and fought her in the Ulippa System. Now he was a member of the Blade of Marmora, confirming that he was part Galra, as Acxa had suspected based on the yellow paladin's words to him in the weblum.

He had probably come there to sabotage the ceremony, as that blast must have been intended to do. But he had saved Lotor, something Acxa would have wanted to do had she known it would be necessary. So when Gnov disarmed him and raised her sword to kill him, Acxa returned the favor by saving him.

The Earthling stood tall and looked down at Acxa. She returned his gaze coldly before turning away and running to where Haggar and her friends stood waiting for her. Acxa asked whether they should go back to Sendak, since he was the one they had brought to put in a place of power, but Haggar called off their original mission, stating calmly, almost without resignation, that the Empire had fallen. Acxa did not like that, not only because it suggested Haggar would not care about the three generals, but also because it was against her nature and her conscience to leave behind an ally, especially a member of one's team.

Haggar kept her word, allowing Acxa, Zethrid, and Ezor to remain free, so far as being in her employment could be considered freedom. They learned who won the Kral Zera shortly after their departure from the chaotic scene. They had mixed feelings when they learned Lotor had not only survived, but also lit the flame.

Lotor was the Emperor now, and they had not been there to support him and share in his glory.

There had been a time when there was no one Acxa would rather have for Emperor than Lotor. Now, after his generals had betrayed him and aligned themselves with the people he had hated and conspired against, he would never welcome them into Galra ranks or society. If they ever lived under his rule, it would be as outlaws.

Acxa did her best, as usual, to keep Zethrid and Ezor focused on each mission and content in the interims, but it was difficult when the present and future were so uncertain. They all wanted to survive and find places where they felt like they belonged, but their desires differed in some particulars. Ezor wanted comfort and amusement. Zethrid wanted a combination of control and challenge.

Acxa did not like this flip-flopping from one leader to another. It made her feel like a mercenary, someone whose loyalty could be bought rather than earned. She missed being someone's trusted follower and partner.

She doubted they would ever find a worthier leader than Prince Lotor. Though Acxa had not forgiven him for turning on Narti, she missed the way things had been when there were five of them. She missed the sense of loyalty they had fostered. It lingered between Acxa, Zethrid, and Ezor, but they no longer had a strong goal uniting them, or a leader they wanted to follow out of respect and admiration rather than mere self-interest.

Nevertheless, they would continue to find things to live for.


End file.
